My Princess (and the Muskateer)

It has been a crazy weekend with just business and not much news. We did take the kids to the Veggie Tales movie this weekend. It was pretty scary. Our kids watch several Disney movies with "bad men" in it. They usually just have to close their eyes for a second, but this seemed to be a little too much for them. Drew kept telling us afterwards that it had scary rock men.

Rachel's wedding is coming up fast. I pulled out Ally's dress to check for any alterations that might need to be done. I actually had to have her breathe in to zip it - ribs in just one spot!

Drew is insane and wakes and sleeps "muskateer." This boy has quite the imagination. I picked up a Mickey Mouse - Three Muskateer video last week. Now we have "sword" fights with the bats. We save princesses (or stuffed cows).

Ally has been dancing and loves to dance with her Daddy.

I Want to Cry

Today was looking to be a great day - 2 hour late start! That typically means that we can take our time getting ready. I like to get to school a little bit early so I can get some stuff done. Well that didn't happen.

I got the kids ready. We even got a good breakfast! The van was pack full of backpacks, snowpants, boots, extra shoes for me, my bag, lunches, purses, cell phone, etc. I got in to start and pull out - no such luck. Click, click, click... Jason had just called and was close, so I tried him but he couldn't get to me for half an hour then I notice the low tire as I am walking to the neighbors to hope that Ryan was still home. Nope, I try Jeff, nope. Then Stu answers and comes over immediately, but it still won't start.

I guess I am trying to dig out the truck in my skirt from underneathe the 13 inches of snow on top of it with a good layer of ice. Ryan comes back home and backs it out for me since it was buried in - who thought when we bought it we would have really needed the 4-wheel drive???? We got it out and Jason was finally home. Then he noticed the that window wasn't quite up and he couldn't get it to stay up - what?!?!?!

SO in the end we decided to put the kids in his car and he would take us to school. Carseats out of the trunk, buckled in, kids in, truck unloaded and my stuff moved for the thrid time. Getting into the car, my cell phone rings and tears come to my eyes - Graf.

You got to be kidding - stay home the secondary roads are too bad - school is canceled. Kids out and stuff unloaded (for the 4th time) to the house to stay. Jason is off to work.

Results are In!

If I were to guess about how much we got, I would say about 12+. The picture below is Jason blowing it out the 3rd time. The snow plow had just come by giving us a 3 foot drift in front of our driveway. We got another 5 inches after he did this. It stopped snowing about 3:00. I think the snow blower was our wisest purchase this year!


The kids headed out with the neighbor kids while their mom and I talked - watching her husband clear snow out. Drew wasn't being very cooperative in getting his picture taken. He was more interested in putting the snow where I didn't want it.

And to top the day off - I just got a call for a late start tomorrow. The county pulled their snowplows at 4:00 and won't be out until 4:00 a.m. We are expected to get some good winds tonight to blow it all back in the roads. Our snowplow hasn't been back since 8:00 this morning.

Snow Day Activities

Aunt Jane would be very pleased! During snow day #1, Ally was messing around on the piano when I decided to get the lesson books. We talked about how to sit at the piano and how to hold a bubble in our hand. We talked about space and line notes, high and low keys, black and white keys.

We learned where F and G were on the piano and on the staff. She worked on her first song - not a real exciting one, but she can do it by herself. You can hear her throughout the day go over and play her song.

I wish I knew how to teach my own daughter effectively - any tips? I will be so much cheaper than finding another teacher!

Start the Snowblower Up!

When the weather guy says that you will see about 10 inches of snow, but somewhere close to us could get up to 20 inches - you know it's gonna be fun! I hate all these 2-3 inch snows! I finally got the big one that puts us at home except for the crazies that have to go to work!

Jason blew the driveway last night with less than 2 inches on it. The big snow was comeing after midnight and produced a little less than an inch an hour. He worked on the driveway about 5:30 and by the time he got in there was another 1/2 inch on it. He just left for a meeting at the hospital and there was a solid 2 more on it. Will the trash guys come today?

We are suppose to get it steady until this afternoon which then I will pull out the ruler and see our totals! I haven't seen a snow like this since my senior year of high school or maybe I just don't remember it since Iowa State wouldn't have canceled classes for it!

Super Bowl with an Added Bonus

You would think that winter was never going to end around here. We can't seem to get a BIG snow, but these 2-3 inches pop up about every other day it seems. Another storm surprised us on Saturday morning. The kids were thrilled since it was perfect to play outside in with Ethan. The fun stopped ebruptly when Drew got a snowball in the face.

It was fun to see my cousin Matt and girlyfriend Ashley. Ashley was a hit with Ally since she pretended to be princess Jasmine with her. She let Ally put make-up on her and paint with her new glitter pens. On Sunday Ally wished that she could call Ashley and tell her that she could come over anytime and play with her - let Ashley know Lou!

Sunday night we got a really big surprise snow storm. In some places they got 12 inches of snow in about 4 hours - we only got about 4. It was insane but didn't stop our Super Bowl fun! We got a babysitter and her awesome Dad dropped her off so that I didn't have to trek out in the crazy snow. We made it to our friends house and enjoyed a good game and good food! I could have cared less about it but wanted Manning to win. I was just excited to not have to worry about my kids running around destroying things!

Just as I walked in the door, I got a call about a 2 hour late start! YES. About 7 this morning they called it off all together. I know that many of you have to still go to work when it is snowing, but this is one of the few perks of being a teacher. About mid-morning our neighbor Val called and asked if the kids could come over and play. I have gotten so much done - taxes, check book, picked up, laundry. The kids had fun and were angels not even bothering Val!

Now it is nap time and I hear were are one for some more snow on Tuesday night with chances (only chances) for significant accumulation! At this point in February we will not have a complete week of school - conferences and professional development on several days!

Early Training

On Saturday morning Ally decided to help me out and asked - yes asked - to wash the dishes. I am not crazy and decided I would take the help even though there was more water on the counter and floor than in the sink. She is very proud of her accomplishments! I hope we can continue this streak until she is 18 but I don't have high expectations for it!

What Do You Do?

My fun blizzard turned into a slight nightmare - kind of. During the afternoon I heard many bumps and thumps, but throught nothing of it since it was like the Wizard of Oz outside. But on our way back in the garage, Jason pointed out several shingles in the front yard. He hoped they weren't ours. We couldn't tell from our front yard so he headed over a street to use the binoculars to check it out. He didn't think it was too bad, but really what are you going to do. There was no way that I was letting him get on our roof especially since it would have been three stories to the ground!

As the night progressed the winds got stronger and by the time Ally had to go to bed it was at its worst. It sounded like someone was snapping a huge rug on top of her room. She slept in our room for awhile. We wanted to put her in the guest bedroom (aka Grandma Rhonda's room) but there was a terrible hissing/buzzing noise outside that window. At one point it looked like everyone was going to snuggle up in our bed - sure would have kept it warmer! The winds proved to be very powerful and finally died down about 3 a.m. Still didn't get much snow just more cold air!

We woke up to MANY shingles on the ground. Jason got up there in the afternoon when he got home from work. After hammering away for a couple hours, we think we have it fixed. Jason is quite sore from the experience though.

A Great Day

I feel like a little kid! The weather forcast is for a blizzard.

From my friends at Wikipedia...
A blizzard is a severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow. Blizzards are formed when a high pressure system, also known as a ridge, interacts with a low pressure system; this results in the advection of air from the high pressure zone into the low pressure area. The term blizzard is sometimes misused by news media to describe a large winter storm that does not actually satisfy official blizzard criteria.

According to Environment Canada, a winter storm must have winds of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more, have snow or blowing snow, visibility less than 1 km (about 5⁄8 mile), a wind chill of less than −25 °C (−13 °F), and that all of these conditions must last for 4 hours or more before the storm can be properly called a blizzard.

Most adults look at this and go - ahhh slow going on the way home from work, but me NOPE!!! It means school (or work to me!) has some changes hopefully! In Iowa if you make it to school it counts! We found out about 9:00 that we were getting out THREE hours early. This means business if it earlier than our 1:15 early out time! We moved lunch times around - the elementary ate at 10 and I was out the door by 12:25 and home in our nice warm cozy house by 1. The only problem - I have to run Ally to the dr for her stinkin' green snot and low grade fever later.

They have closed some of the interstates already - it is heading our way! The wind is crazy. I got out to get the mail and had a hard time getting my door back open. And think I saw several girls with flip flops on and boys with no coats! Maybe we can get a late start too! I just still want to get there. I hate making the days up!

Now can I get something done while I am here or do I lay on the couch like I want to?

For a Future Wedding Video

Drew had his pjs off one day and found his Puss -n- Boots costume before we could get out of bed. Pretty sure this will make a video or picture board someday!

Henry

When asked about having a new baby SOMEDAY - he says no. He did enjoy holding Henry our newest addition to our small group.

Only Ones

I think that we are the only ones in the neighborhood to shovel our backyard. You might think we are crazy, but this is a ingenious concoction created by my dad, Jason and I to make our lives much easier! On Friday we had about 100 pieces of dry wall delivered - good thing Ally and I were home to accept the delivery! She was "sick", but only threw-up once!

In STL when we finished the basement, we paid the guys to carry it to the basement. They huffed and puffed for over an house carrying it down. I felt so sorry for them, but could only offer my condolences and some Mountain Dew - I was prego with Drew. This time we couldn't get them to carry it down so we were stuck with it in the garage. Now don't forget it is quite chilly outside and vehicles don't like to start and are very cold when they sit outside!

We shoveled a path to the backyard, pulled off a fence section, shoveled a path tot he patio door and tada! Dad brought over his truck so the drywall would lay flat and we bribed a couple good friends to come over on a Friday night to help. I know that Jesse didn't know what he was getting into! We originally thought that they would have to carry it from the fence to the door, but the truck BARELY fit through the fence!

Drew was a great help and stayed up late while Ally was asleep by 7:30 - she really wasn't feeling good!

Thank you good friends and dad!

Start with a Bang

Today started with a big bang - or to be more exact a hiss. Jason had hopefully his final sleep study last night - we don't know the results, but the tech told him he had very little snoring on his back only but heavy breathing. He didn't qualify for the breathing machine test which is good.

He was coming home and usually calls me in the mornings if he isn't home - my wake up call so I can't sleep in! I was in the shower so obviously didn't get out. He didn't show up for awhile so I gave him a call and didn't answer. I just thought - oh he is in the subdivision and will be home in a second. Nope he called a couple minutes later to tell me he had a flat tire.

I usually would freak out here since it was 10 minutes til I need to leave and I had a sub for the day so I could go to a conference, but I had my plans done so I had more time to grade in the morning - not gonna happen. I hurried to get the kids ready to run him a tool since the nuts were striped. I contemplated leaving them snuggled in their beds since I was only going 2 miles, but thought that this would be the day that they would wake up on their own.

We are fairly used to flat tires, but today was COLD. My car registered a -24 plus some windchill to put us about at -40. Changing a flat in this was going to be rough in the cold. He finally decided that he couldn't get it and he would tow it - company car so doesn't cost us a penny just time!

I am thankful for company cars, warm vans and tow trucks!

My Big Day

I am now one less than 8 times my daughters age - which puts me at old. I had one girl tell me that you are a year younger than my mom - YIKES!!!

It was a good day for all of you that played apart. The first present actually came last Friday afternoon about 3 bells - a call from the attorney's office that said the court date had been postponed - not cancel though. So to my 5th hours delight I was there - which was what they wanted!

I got up and Jason made me some pancakes and we got a LATE start which is pleasant any day, but made is extra great. The roads weren't too bad either. At school my "birthday buddy" Marla made cookies for the lounge and gave me a basket of goodies. She was so thoughtful and brought a smile to my face - unexpected surprises are the best.

I made cookies for my students which brought smiles to their faces, but not quiet mouths - snow never does. My 5th hour class is my birthday class. They each bring treats for their birthday. They sang to me and made some beautiful cards. Whoever said that 8th graders are crazy - I disagree - I love them very much.

I got a special call from my dear friend Ann and a message from Amy that brought smiles to my face. Family is suppose to remember and they all did but friends that take the extra time out of their day are blessings!

Supper - a mexican theme but ribs and a cake (that I didn't get to blow out the candles - Thanks Aunt Rachel (and Drew and Ally) made by my mom was delicious.

The only disappointment was that my kids on Friday had voted for Jason to decorate me a Little Mermaid cake. He let my mom do it since he ran out of time. They were upset and think that he still should try it - maybe for Valentines day!

Only 364 days til my next big day!

The Artic

It is bitter cold here! We typically don't have extra blankets on our bed, but the last couple nights have required more. We woke up to NEGATIVE 11 degrees and a cold bathroom floor. We dressed in layers for church and asked the kids to get their shoes on. What does Drew come in with - not his snow boots which he wore all day yesterday and to bed? Instead my creative little guy found his sandles in his closet and continued to argue with us to let him wear them.

I tried - you'll get snow in your socks. Didn't work - You can carry me, Mom.

I tried - your feet will get cold. Didn't work - I will take them in the van and put them on at church.

Finally I decided that reasoning with him wouldn't work, so we pried them off his feet and put his tennis shoes on. I wish some of my 8th graders' parents would stop them from wearing flip flops to school in this weather!

Subpoenaed

Yesterday I got a lovely surprised towards the end of the day. I got called out of class (which RARELY happens) to the office. I was met at the door by a county sheriff. I was a little flustered at first, but he handed me a pink paper and I quickly noticed, "Subpoenaed" and the date - January 22 - ARGGGGHHHH. At first I was confused on why, but noticed the last name of a kid that I had for a couple months - custody case.

So I get to go to court on my birthday. I hope it doesn't last too long and that it is only one afternoon. I don't have much to say since I didn't have the student long and have met one parent for 30 minutes. Should be interesting!

Looking back - I should have been freaked out that the officer had other news for me. Praise the Lord he didn't!

It is freezing here in the promise land and the outlook for warmer weather doesn't look good. Bummed out that the snow predictions didn't come up to what we wanted for a no school day, but oh well - earlier summer break - positive outlook!

Puss-in-Boots

Maybe our kids have watched too much tv lately or maybe they have great imaginations! I try to switch the movie in the van about once a week - I get tired of them quickly! They have been watching and playing Shrek for a couple weeks now as you know by the post a couple days ago.

Tonight my little imagination boy walked into supper with his black snow boots on and his cowboy had and a tool belt on with a "swor" (or saw) drawn. He is Puss In Boots from Shrek 2 and 3. He is crazy! This is Puss.

I think he resembles Puss pretty good! What do you think?

I wonder what his teacher think of us at home?

Dominoes

We have started teaching Ally and Drew how to play dominoes like we did with Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Melvin. They don't play all the rules, but like matching the colors. They haven't quite figured out the dots. They have also enjoyed making domino trains and knocking them down. Picking them all up at the end is fun too - believe it or not!!

We are practicing to beat Grandpa Melvin. Ally (and Drew) does cheat like Grandma Arlene - they look at everyone else's dominoes!

A Fun Surprise

Have you ever got a new coat out to find that last year you left money in the pocket - even if it is just a buck it thrills you!

I have been working on cleaning out/organizing the picture boxes since before we left STL. I have been a bad mom and haven't completed (hardly started) Drew's baby book and Ally's is halted at 10 months (about the time I got pregnant with Drew). I was going through Drew's cards (from BIRTH) and a $20 dropped out. That puts $20 more in his college fund than he had before!

Little surprises make me so happy!

Some Weekend Funnies

Jason came home on Friday and yes we survived with no mishaps! Praise the Lord.

I wish I had something significant from the weekend, but we spent it cleaning and wiring stuff up in the basement.

We did have a great movie night with pizza and popcorn. The kids have been into Shrek. I have seen the first one too much so we headed to Wal-Mart to get the others! The kids have been playing Shrek this whole week - Drew is Shrek, Ally is Fiona and our horse on a stick is donkey. The only funny with this is that one night Drew was telling Daddy on the phone what he had been doing. He said - I am Shrek, Ally is Fiona and mommy is the donkey. In the background I said - yeah I'm the a**. Drew quotes me telling his daddy - yeah mommy's the a**. Goodness. Let's hope that one doesn't go to school.

If you didn't find that funny - try our newest quote from tonight. The kids were suppose to be cleaning up their stuff before supper. Jason asked Ally - What shape is YOUR room in? She pauses and says - uh probably a big rectangle. I picked myself off the floor 5 minutes later. Jason said - I guess I walked into that one.

And finally our dramatic little boy. The only movie in the van this week has been Little Mermaid. They got to watch it several times with Thursday the whole thing since it took so long to get home from school. Drew has been singing like a crazy man and finally I asked him what he was. He told me that he was a white bird. After listening carefully I figured out that he was Scuttles in the love scene - Kiss the girl.

And the movie - my bootlegged version...

Drew's immitation...

How do you think he did?

20 hours Left

I am starting the countdown until Jason comes home. Really it hasn't been bad at all and we have been free from trouble - knock on wood! I know that he misses us more than the kids seem to miss him. I can't wait for a squeeze, but I don't think/know that Ally and Drew don't understand how long he's been gone. Drew asked this morning if Daddy could get him dressed. Ally told him that Daddy was in Wisconsin at meetings.

Tonight we returned some Christmas stuff and ate at Culvers. We got a surprise snow "storm". I don't classify it as a real storm, but it did make coming home from school on the slow side!

I had big plans tonight of having the kids sing their night night songs to Daddy on cmaera, but we were going potty and heading to bed when I remembered again. My best judgement said to just keep moving towards the goal due to the yawns of Thing 1 and Thing 2. I am going to go and sit and enjoy some tv as I await my good night phone call! Hope he is not too late - he is probably singing his favorite songs since he is required to karoke to eat supper!

Day 2 without Jason

I just didn't want to get out of bed this morning. My heater is in WI sleeping with 6 other dudes (not in the same bed)! It seems like forever until he will come home, but I know that it is just a few days. I was lucky that in the first few years of our marriage he didn't have to travel for work. Now it is really only 1 or so day a month which really isn't that bad, but I would much rather him be home. He says that he would rather be home too, but I know how much he likes to sprawl out in a hotel bed!!!

He told me this morning that I could send emails to him since he has his blackberry with him, but I thought that today would be crazy and it was. President Bush has blessed teachers with standardized testing which I don't like, but it really makes me think about what my kids are learning and IF they are learning. We take a computerized test 3 times a year and today was my turn. Typically it isn't bad, but things just didn't seem to be flying my way today. Wrong test uploaded - sorry to my few that had to retake it:( Crashing computers, lack of computers, talking kids, impatient teachers (including me!) By the end of the day I did get all but 10 finished and the scores look pretty good. We talk a lot about growth goals and working hard. It is fun to see the excitement on their faces when they reach the goal that I encouraged them to get.

Tonight we were going to do some shopping, but my instincts told me that continual fighting between Thing 1 and Thing 2 when we got home would probably not be a great idea but my van DESPERATELY needed a bath - I was embarrassed to drive it to school today - gravel roads.

So my sweetie - I hope that you are having a great night laughing and being a witness. I know that you are bummed that you had to eat a Cesear salad, steak and baked potato instead of our hot dogs and KRAFT mac and cheese. I know you miss the hugs in the morning and at bedtime, but we will give you extras when you get back.

We love you and miss you and pray for your safe return on Friday!

Presto!

We gave probably one of the best presents to Grandpa Melvin this year. It was a Presto Mailbox. He obviously doesn't have a computer and said a few months ago that he wishes 15 years ago when they started getting big that he would have learned to use it, but he thought it was a fad. Humm some fad.

We send him messages and they print off in his printer 3 times a day. He looks forward to getting mail. I know that for him to get a message from us or any other family or friend it makes his day. He told my mom he loves it and that he looks forward to the time that it dials up! I pray that we can be an encouragement to him and share our family with him as much as possible.

Now - if you are one of my cousins or family members reading this and you aren't sending messages - do it! I try to send a short message every other day and if I use up all the paper and ink - I'll buy more because he has done so much for me that this is the least I can do for him!

For Our Special Daddy

We love you Jason!

Every year Miron takes their project managers on a retreat which I personally think is crazy but I am not paying or for - at least not financially. It seems that every time Jason heads out of town life on the home front falls apart. So far on Day 1 everyone is well and all tires are still on the van. Our small group reassured me last night that they were there to help which is a HUGE blessing.

We had a good night playing cards and taking a shower with rags - Daddy doesn't let the kids have rags because he says they make too much of a mess, but Mommy just closes the curtain and all is well. I did learn that Ally cheats as much as I do in cards. She was continaully watching Drew's hand to see if she could ask him for a Go Fish card - stinker! Drew is showing off his car book puzzle that Mommy finally got put together - it is a slide puzzle.

Other than that - uneventful. Now I have to get caught up on a grant project that I am working on for a HP notebook tablet, multimedia projecter, camera, printer/copier and some more stuff. I don't know if we have a chance on it, but we are working hard to get it! Let's hope that I can stay awake.

Productive and Busy Weekend

All the Christmas stuff finally got put away - or most of it the lights haven't made it to their resting spot for the year, but a nice balmy 45 degree day made it nice to take down the lights. The kids made a mess of their clothes in the mud - at least they had their farm boots on!

We have also been working on the basement quite a bit - the goal is Rachel's wedding which is only 60 days away. Scary!!! The major task was getting rid of all the junk down there which most of it made its way to Goodwill. This week, Jason got it the bathroom and most of the circuits. It is a bummer that he will be gone playing in WI this week for work. I know that he doesn't really want to go, but a short vacation away from this mad house is always welcome!

This is the bathroom (which might have heated floors???). The stairs are on the left which you can't see. I am stading on the corner of the tv room.

This is looking at some trash and the bedroom in the way back. It was hard finding a place for all the furniture that was in the basement of the "red" house.

Finally Over...

Last weekend we had several Christmas's and our kids were exhausted every night as we brought them home in their pjs - straight to bed, BUT they had to take their medicine for their darn colds. One night Ally fell over on the counter and Drew obviously never opened his eyes.

While we were in Aplington at Jason's parents house, we decided to try out our new GPS. The problem though was that the temperature was a mere 2 degrees and there was a good 6 inches of snow on the ground. We (I mean Jared) did manage to find one cashe (but broke the container when he was banging his foot on the tree).

I will leave you with a couple picture of our snow fun (Jason's nightmare of shoveling). He was trying to get it off since it was weighing the springs down and the mat costs WAY too much to replace!

Here is our friend, Mr. Snowman, that wanted a ride with Jason and Drew.

New Store!

Updated - I guess I missed half the email since I didn't scroll down so I added the rest.

Instead of getting this as a forward email - I'll post it instead.

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs. She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids. 'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking. 'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework. 'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak. She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

PLEASE NOTE: To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

First floor - H as wives that love sex.

Second Floor - The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer.

The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

3 Musketeers

Starting Them Young

Ally and Drew got A LOT of games for Christmas. We are heading into a stage of game playing which is really fun unless you are a person that hates to lose. We have enjoyed Hungry Hippo, Kerplunk, Sequence for Kids (this one rocks), Go Fish, Uno, Veggie Tales one, Backyardigans and Dancing one (not a good one for me or Jason). It has been interesting and difficult to teach taking turns, who deals, who starts (because you know that the oldest starts and Ally thinks that is her).

Drew has really surprised me too. He is not quite able to hold his cards without showing the neighbors, but he is a good Go Fish player. He also only likes to ask one person for cards - preferably Daddy. He loves to say, "Go Fish" and squeals like a little girl when he gets a match!

We are heading into a stage in our family that has no babies and the kids are old enough to have family game night and it not be a complete disaster!

On a side note for the proud Mom and Math teacher: My daughter randomly counted by 10s the other day (learned on her own), skip counted to 14 (2, 4, 6...), skip counted backwards from 9 (9, 7, 5, 3, 1) and told me that 3+3+3+3+3+3=18! She has a knack for numbers - I wonder where she got that???

Quotes From the Weekend

The time has come to publish some of the newest quotes in Jason's book. We really should dedicate a whole blog to his favorite quotes, but the quotes have slowed down since we don't see Scoggins often, but Ally and Amy K are taking over!

First (but not the funniest!), heading home from church Ally informs us that she is going to since her new song all the way to Aunt Linda's. Oh my it is an hour drive and that would be too much for any sane mom or dad. We told her she could sing it til we got home and then we could put the video on (what did our parents do?). Her song was "Away in the Manger." She sang the first verse beautifully and went on to the second... "the cattle are exploding - the baby awakes" What??? "exploding?"

Second (but still not the funniest), was our game night at the Klaassen's. Amy and Chris got out their Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader Game. Rachel was on her 2nd grade math question - True/False: All irregular rectangles have 4 sides. Chad and her contemplating the answer (this made the math teacher very upset). Amy in her tiredness (it was past 11) blurted out "all rectangles have three" as she tried to skid off the last word hoping that no one would hear, Jason grabbed the paper to write down the newest of his quotes. We love you Amy and thank you for the great giggles that it brings to me and my class tomorrow!

Thirdly (and to me the funniest), we were at the dr. office for some lovely colds and green snot. The nurse was going through her list of 20 questions when she asked if Ally was allergic to any medicines. I told her no and we finished the qu's as Ally tugged on my sleeve. The nurse got up to get something and Ally whispered in my ear - mom you forgot to tell her that I was allergic to ******. Trying not to fall on the floor, I told her that she needed to tell the nurse. Kindly the nurse asked her - and Ally's reply - I'm allergic to skunks. Quite surprised the nurse said - oh that's a first, I am sure that the dr. won't give you any medicines with skunks in it.

I am sure there were more, but these are the ones that keep coming up. There are a few quotes in life that you can't get enough of. My ultimate favorite is by Daren Aldag - You can't swing a dead cat in there without hitting an old person. Or Bobby Etherton's - Not saying I have the bird, but if I did would it be a good time to play it.

Good Night Sweetheart!

This will bring tears to your eyes and make you chuckle at the same time! As I was putting Ally to bed tonight we were talking about why Christmas was so important. She quoted the whole story to me, but was lost on why Jesus was so important. I asked her what Jesus did and she can tell me that he died for her on the cross. We talked a little bit about why he died for us.

At the end of the conversation Ally said - Everytime I hear about Jesus dying on the cross, it breaks my heart because I love him so much.

This was precious to a mom to hear her daughter say this, but got a chuckle out of me because it was in the Ally drama voice - but I know it was still from her big heart!

Race Has Began....

We have been working really had on starting on the basement. I would love to have it liveable/done (preferably) by Rachel's wedding/Uncle Ken's birthday - March 8th. It is pretty much cleaned up to start on some stuff but what do you do with the stuff that we already have down there?

We went to Lowes and got the goodies to start the bathroom walls and the rest of the walls that we don't have up - see last years wall extravaganza. So can we do it? Who knows? We are calling all volunteers - especially if you know anything about building, plumbing, elctricity or like to carry dry wall!

Chuck - can you come put the shower up???

Side note: we did hit the jack pot tonight and got a shower base ($50 - reg $144) and a shower door ($10 - reg $219)

Christmas Morning

We had a wonderful Christmas full of fun, but it is hardly over. We have only opened presents and "had" Christmas with just us. This weekend is my family and extended fam and off to Willis' on New Years Day.

Santa came and ate the cookies and Mountain Dew that Ally left him. Drew thinks that he "sneaked" into our house. Christmas for Drew was filled with Cars, Cars and some more Cars. He is in little boy heaven with all of them - the lines are getting longer. (He likes to line them all up and count them.) He is also a big fan of M&Ms if you can't tell. He is our present maniac.

Ally loved all the make-up that she got. She might have more than me now, but her present from Santa was Oppsy Care Bear. She continually asked if she was being good for the last week. I wonder if I can keep this Santa thing going all year to keep her on her BEST behavior? She is a girl after her mommy's heart - we both LOVE Christmas!

We sledded in the afternoon with my mom and sister. We headed over to the farm house hills which are long. But we had some slight difficulty because the drifts were too thick and you sunk and it was too warm - snow too sticky. Did I really say that it was too warm??? It was good weather to make a snowman and have it ride on the 4-wheeler with you! I would post it but I have to wait to retrieve it from my mom's camera.

By the end of the afternoon, Drew was konked out without his daily 2 hour nap (YES 2 hours or more!!!) He got a snooze in before heading up to Grandpa Melvin's for supper.

BFF

As we were heading out the door, Ally's best buddies ran to give her hugs. Issi (far right) is her best friend. Reily, Ally and Issi like to play powder puff girls together - huh????

Ugly Sweaters!

Many heads turned and looked twice at me in the Hawkeye sweater but really it wasn't a big deal. I have (and probably will always be) a Hawk fan at heart - I just went to Iowa State and won't cheer for Iowa when they play ISU. (I'd post a picture, but my eyes look terrible in it.)

But I wasn't in the contest since mine was only "ugly." Many of the women teachers had some pretty good sweaters on, but none hideous. They were the infamous "teacher" sweaters. I don't know if I would ever buy some of these sweaters because I'm also "not that old."

BUT the boys out did the womem by far! I had to leave before the judging of the sweaters for Jason's tonsil appt - who do you think won? (You can click on any of the pictures to get a bigger and closer look at the beautiful detail.)

Pete: (far left) He wonderful sweater was a gift to his sister-in-law a few years ago. His wife got one also. They wore their matching sweaters to school. Pete doesn't usually sport the stylish facial hair, but today was a special occassion.

Steve Carey (aka scarey): Steve has a homemade sweatshirt that he bought at goodwill. His outfit is complimented with his green velour pants. The tuba is also his. To start my day off on a good foot - he came out of his room (across from me) playing jaws. He is hilarious!

Last is Brent: Brent's wife, Bridey made his sweater. She sewed on the lace ruffle on the top and ironed on the tree and some candy for an added touch. Brent wore some cowboy boots and a belt buckle for the occasion. He also never slicks his hair and definitely not down the middle. This is completely out of character for our quiet Brent.

The picture below is Joe our PE teacher. He has a lovely vest type sweater on. If you look closely it has kitties. I think this sweater shows his more compassionate side.

And one on the backside too for an added touch.

What do you think? Who should have won?

Side note: There are more teachers in our building we ain't that small.

Program

The kids had their program this past weeek which is always entertaining - how could it not be though? Fifty-two 2-4 year olds singing in front of their parents and grandparents and friends. No one fell off the risers this year though, but the kid that did last year rolled around on the floor this year. He is still in Pre-K next year so we will see what he does then! The kids found us waving frantically like all the other parents when they walked in and waved back! Drew pointed out to his teacher (or his girlfriend as we refer to her) his "Grandpa with a beard on it." They did a wonderful job.

This is our favorite - Chubby snowman. Drew wouldn't do the action. We aren't sure what he was doing - dancing like his daddy????

After visiting with Santa, who made a guest appearance, Drew climbed up to show us his coloring book that Santa brought him!

Starting Opening....

We had tons of present to open and if the kids had their choice, we would have opened them all in less than 5 minutes, but we spread the joy out! We started with Aunt Lou's and Grandpa John's presents. They were thrilled to open them.

But I hadn't gone through to see if any were similar so there would be no arguing over sharing. Drew wanted this cow so bad! The next night he got a pig that has been sleeping with him ever since! Thanks Lou (and Mitch and Matt) and Grandpa!

We opened one a night until they were gone which took several days. We did have to give in to opening Aunt Laura's in one night since we were running out of days. I think that Laura was thinking of Jason and I when she bought her presents. I think her philosophy was how can I return revenge on all the people that gave my kids crazy things for Christmas - oh I can take it out on my nieces and nephews.

If you can't tell - the first picture is a sliding whistle, then make-up (which she carries everywhere with her), rock painting kit, stickers (everyone like this presents - my phone has been pimped out already!) and then felt construction stuff.

Thank you so much for all the presents - our kids are blessed to have such great Great uncles and aunts!!!

Big Birthday

Last Saturday (15th) Jason's parents and brother were suppose to come to celebrate Janelle's 60th birthday, but the weather turned them away we got about 4 inches of snow. Drew and Ally enjoyed the snow and played out there for almost 2 hours!!! Sweet quietness! That night Stacey came over and we got to share a nice quiet dinner and FINISH our Christmas shopping. That was a great feeling!!!

On Sunday everyone came to celebrate the big day. We enjoyed lunch at her favorite restaurant - the Brown Bottle and some Yummy's Gourmet Cake. Jared and Allison stayed later and went sledding with the kids again.

Fighting Chance!!!

Sweater update: I did lose the bet - he wore the sweater to work, but noone said anything. I finally emailed Sara (co-worker) and asked why not. She said that she thought he was trying something new. I told her I would never send him looking like that. He did embarass me by showing up to the dr. office in it. He walked into a waiting room full of people in that hideous combo! Ally wore it instead!

I might actually lose the bet. This is what Jason walked into the bathroom this morning wearing. I wonder if it will actually make it into the office AND if they will say anything!

Hot!

We have ugly (holiday) sweater contest at school. I didn't have any since we have "goodwilled" most of that stuff - not that I really had any to start with! But I called my mom remembering this cool sweater my dad had in the 80s. It was a bright gold (with an orange tint) and black striped Iowa sweater. He (and I) thought it was fabulous back in the day, but I thought that this would be a good day to pull it back out.

My mom also sent me home with a couple others. One I didn't think was hideous, but not willing to wear in public and this beauty that Jason is sporting. This cardigan was wore to many church services and school programs like I think last year. My dad looked great. I am trying to dare Jason to wear it to work on Friday, but he isn't taking the great payback for doing it. He wore it all evening - I think he love it!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Last week we headed over to our local telephone company because Santa was visiting! Since the visit last year, our kids have pointed out that Santa lives in that building (telephone company's office. Ally brought her letter that she wrote to him and Drew came with stars dancing in his eyes. We came early this year since last year we waited and waited and then waited some more - we were #35 instead of #293! We walked in and Drew gasped at the sight of the jolly old guy. Drew was very obedient while waiting patiently even though the rest of the boys in the place were insane! Ally colored him a picture at the table while we waited and was so excited to hand over her master piece. Poor Santa got TONS of pictures that night from little guys and gals.

We got up close in line and Drew got cold feet. His shyness set in and he got up in Mommy's arms and whispered - I don't want to sit on his lap. Knowing that we had waited too long for him to cry through this I threatened no Culvers afterwards - I don't know what I was going to do because there was no doubt in my mind - we needed to eat supper! But the fear faded away as we got up there and Drew ran up to Santa and talked his ear off about his cars and how he wants this "purple guy and orange guy." (We have no clue what this is.) Ally finally got her turn after prying Drew to the side. She handed him the list as if that was enough. She did talk to him, but you can see the face that was her "I'm so excited and scared at the same time to talk to you" face.

The night ended well and we throughly enjoyed the trip (and to Culvers). Jason enjoyed some cheese curds which was probably the first questionable food that he should have been eating.

Care Group Christmas Party

We enjoyed our first care group CHRISTMAS (not holiday) PARTY!!! It was a blast. We shared appetizers - instead of getting a plate, we stood around the counter and ate. Jesse and Linda (and Henry) were late getting there and almost missed out on more than just the food. We had a sing-a-long - by the persuasion of Ally and Drew. Kate (gray sweater) and Lori (drums) thought this could be a great idea. I don't know if they realized I got it on tape. O Holy Night was the first number and was exciting, but then the "costumes" came out for Rudolph. Enjoy, but really most Iowans are not wierd.

We ended the joyous evening with a good ol' gift exchange where we attempted to give away the same present that Etherton's left at our house a couple years ago. We haven't found that it got left again, but I have my suspicions. We collected some great cd's (Celion Dion, Olivia, a great praise band) and a 2004 Trading Spaces calendar - UNOPENED. Jason got a great gift of a Iowa Hawkeye tent cover - not a tent just a cover. It doesn't beat the great candles that Anderson's got though!!!

We have more blogs to come, but we had to post this exciting evening immediately!

Speller

Ally loves to write. This might be an understatement because she is ALWAYS asking how to spell something. She hasn't quite got the concept of spaces, but who cares she's four! We have been daily writing out "letters to Santa" for her to copy. She also hasn't quite gotten the concept of left to right but once again who cares she's four!

One morning while I was still yapping in the hall to a fellow co-worker, Ally and Drew were messing around in my room as they usually do. They like the dry erase board or the computers or standing on the desks. I walked in gathered them up and took them to class. When I got back, I was getting my boards ready for the day when I noticed Ally's writing on the board. At first I didn't realize it, but then noticed that she figured out how to spell "Drew". Yes it is backwards in more than one way, but I was proud of her. She will be better speller than me!

Snow Day!

I typically don't like phone calls at 5:40 in the morning, but today it was slightly welcomed! We are suppose to experience an ice storm that could be as bad as last years that knocked out power to a lot of people for a really long time. I headed to the grocery store with the other 4000 people in North Liberty last night. I haven't ever been to the grocery store when the carts were ALL gone. We took a basket looking for food that we could eat without warming up. That is harder than it looks!

I went to bed with hopes that it would really start sleeting - kind of. I would have liked a late start, but it is too bad to go out today. I know that Jason would have prefered us to be gone today.

As I was lying in bed trying to go back to sleep after my dad's phone call to see how we were doing, Ally joins me. I tried to get her back in her bed for 15 minutes, but 15 minutes to her is about 3 minutes real time. She came back and started telling me about how she fell at school the other day and got a "boobies" - what?????? I said - no Ally "boo-boos."

And that was the start to a wonderful day....

Sledding Fun

We had a good time the other night in the snow. After this fun of scooping the driveway and being in much arm pain the next morning (at least it is just unused muscules not the strain from this summer), we decided to break down and get a snow blower. We are getting old! We have a riding mower from Chad coming this spring.

Side note: the bottom middle picture is of Drew coming down the hill, but I had to jump out of the way as I snapped the picture - at least got his arm!

Winter Friends

The last few days have been interesting to say the least. Jason is getting his tonsils and other stuff out - but planning for this "main" event has caused me a slight bit of stress. We got a lovely ice storm last weekend but it was gone before school to start, but the antipication of another storm. On Thursday afternoon I was sure that the snow was to stop in time for the plows to get out and get it off the roads. We only got a little more than 3 inches, but on top of the ice made it a fun trip home!

We went out for supper for Jason's "last supper" or an excuse to not make supper. We got home and had promised that good kids could play out in the snow. We bundled them up and played (Jason and I scooped the drive) for over an hour. The driveway with ice made a pretty good hill for sledding. Drew cried and cried when we had to come in. They haven't gotten to go outside all week at school since the playground is still covered in ice.

After getting the kiddos in bed, we watched Survivor. I was wrong. Denise was crazy not to vote for Erik and that will come back to haunt her unless she can get immunity one of the next two weeks and that Phy-Gee doesn't. No contestant in their right mind would take Denise of Phy-Gee to the final three. I think that Amanda will win unless the jury decides that she wasn't the "dudette" in charge and that she was riding on Todd's coat tails. Courtney (skinny girl) doesn't have a chance - no one likes her. So my prediction now is on Todd for winning. How is that Mariah? For those of you who could care less - sorry it's my blog!

When we went to bed I looked out the front window in "grandma rhonda's" room, I discovered about 10 or so friends in the field across from our house. Jason thinks that they are still nibbling on the alfalfa in the field. It was amazing to see so many deer so close in the peaceful snow. They were still chewing away when we got up before the break of dawn. I wonder if those are one of the same crew that Jason tried to take out on our way to supper. Supposedly Amana is where there are so many problems with deer but in my 2 years there I have yet to have one scampe out in front of me (knock on wood!), but it is daily entertainment in our subdivision - I LOVE IT!!!

For You Mariah (and Caitlin)

Every Thursday I talk with Mariah and Caitlin about who is getting kicked off Survivor. We DVR it every week so I have no clue yet who gets kicked off. With it being a crazy day, I didn't get to make a full debate with Mariah - sorry girl!

So my prediction....I am assuming that Amanda is going switch sides and try to join with Phy-Gee and Eric leaving the allians of Denise, Todd and skinny girl. From the previews I have read and watched that Denise gets reward and doesn't take phy-gee. Who gets kicked off - I am not sure, but I think it will be either Todd or Phy-Gee. I think that Denise will stay with her original alliance making Phy-Gee gone - which is exactly what Mariah said.

What I would like to happen - Eric joins Denise Todd and skinny girl and kicks off Amanda. She is really the brains behind the operations and is the sneaky one - blind side her!!!!

Getting Good

Beware - this involves puke.....

Our kids are the king and queen of puke for no reason. Does anyone else's kids have this problem? We will be sound asleep and wake suddenly to screaming. When we stagger into the room, we (I mean Jason - I try to stay in bed) get smacked in the face with that lovely smell that you can't get out of you nose. Drew did this on Saturday night - supposedly coughing in the culprit.

Last night I sang Ally's songs to her and made it down the stairs to finish my book for small group. I hear something weird followed by a scream and scamper back up the stairs to hear Ally yell - I puked. I HATE CHANGING SHEETS and I would never make them sleep in the yuk but the thought has crossed my mind in the middle of the night. When we arrived in her room a few seconds later to find that she had kept it in - gross! Then her sobbing she does it again, but I catch it in the wastepaper basket. We made it to the bathroom before any major catastrophes and nothing in the bed!

Jason's comment: Man - Ally you are getting good - you didn't get any on your bed and just a little on the carpet.

Can you really be getting good at puking?

Christmas Countdown

The Willis art project for this evening was our chain to countdown to Christmas. We started this last year and it was the excitment of the evening to tear off the chain link! Jason and I drew out the lines for cutting and let them cut. Actually we got a little impatient and their endurance was only to get 8 cut out so we did the rest. Drew is getting really good at using sissors! Stapling is the highlight of this project.

The quote of the night was from Ally - Daddy, that is not red - it is raspberry!

You Would Have Thought...

We were getting the storm of the year, but the first ice/snow storm of the year is on its way. Actually it is the second, but the first one was in and out fast. But like every prediction of snow and ice the grocery stores were INSANE!!!! What do people think? Do they really think they will run out of all groceries in 24 hours? We had a couple projects that we are going to do on Saturday and needed some things from Wal-Mart. When we stopped into the store, we turned right back around and headed out - lines about 10 deep. It looked worse than the day after Thanksgiving but instead of presents, everyone had milk and bread.

Fareway, my favorite store, had only a few loaves of bread left and a good supply of milk. Good thing I could get my bread and milk, we want french toast for breakfast!

Slacking...

I know that my faithful readers - all two of you - are probably really frustrated that you come daily and nothing new. It is not for lack of entertainment at the Willis household, but for lack of time and energy by the editor and chief of the blog. I would like to say that tonight is an exception but I have an extra kid for the evening, Jason is in Wisconsin, and I have more papers to grade than I know what to do with!

We have two different sets of friends having babies. Our neighbors are in waiting since their baby has 5 days more to go before the dr. will let her have it. She has gestational diabetes. Ethan is at our house right now making a pen for the little cow - Drew. Pray for them as she is having circulation problems in her legs.

Our care group is gaining its first non-charter member!!! Henry Charlton O'Brein was born tonight - 8 lbs 11 oz. Congrats Jesse and Linda - we can't wait to meet him. Linda is a champ - from a 7 to baby out in less than 40 minutes - AND no drugs!!!!

I was taking a look at all of our Thanksgiving pictures (which I will post later) and noticed that 90 percent of them contained Lauryn. Does this mean the baby thing is on our mind? Jason took a 2 hour nap with the little princess! Aren't they precious?

Christmas is coming!

We put our Christmas lights up today! We typically don't like to do this before Thanksgiving (this is the first year we have), but you have to take advantage of any day where the temps are above freezing and when there is no rain or wind. We started early after our friends from Ames left and got a head start on Clark Griswald behind us. I don't like tacky, but I like a lot of lights. We are trying to change it up a little bit from last year. We still have the outline all done, but are trying to add some stuff to the front porch. There will be NO blow up Santa! The Wagners had a huge Christmas tree on their porch and I thought that was so pretty. Since we don't have any shrubbary to decorate we might get a tree for the porch.

We didn't get finished today since we took a break to "watch" the ISU football game - to be truthful neither of us watched it but slept until Ally drove us crazy. Drew and Ally's Christmas program is coming up and they are practicing their songs. Drew typically isn't the one to break out in song, but he was doing his "Chubby Snowman" finger play. Sorry it isn't the best, but the first time he would do it- it was perfect and then when I would go get the camera he would mess up the lines.

Words: The chubby little snowman
Had a carrot nose
Along came a bunny
and What do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny
Looking for his lunch,
Ate the snowman's carrot nose
Nibble, nibble, crunch.

One Off the List

I like to brag on my honey. He loves to do woodworking or making furniture but with two kids around and other things on the honey-do-list he doesn't always have a lot of time for this precious time-consuming hobby. We needed a new dresser, and I had found the plans last Thanksgiving for a misson style one that would match the rest of our bedroom furniture. Jason started on this project last winter and with much patience from me and him, he finally got it done. He was very frustrated with the drawers - making them slide right.

It is huge compared to what I was used to. I can barely see in the top drawers.

So the honey-do-list has just got shorter - so what should I add???

It's about time!

Chris and Amy - well I should say Amy because it is unlikely that Chris will have much to say have finally started a blog. Check them out! Kaylee is the chickadee on the farm that is hilarious! I am sure that Lauren will try to get a few words in someday!

Sore Losers

We have two new rook friends!!! Kate and Jim are our game buddies! They don't have kids - yet - so they come over after Drew and Ally head to bed. We have taught them Dutch Blitz, Sequence and now ROOK!!! It was a slow night with only one bid over 140, but as you can tell my the TERRIBLE picture the girls kicked butt both games! We did have some table talk, but nothing that would have made the game any closer.

Score: Men -195 to Women 610 I did have a picture of Jason (giving me a friendly jester of love), but he erased it before I could get it downloaded to the computer.

Love You!

Ally has been very interested in what she did as a baby for several months. She asks how she asked for a bottle. We started talking about sign language again. Her teacher at school uses the letters. She holds up the "a" and if your name starts with "a," you can line up or do whatever.

Somewhere along the line we talked about "I love you." They have both picked this up. Ally usually sticks a number on the end to show how many times she loves us. I love to hear it no matter how she tells us!

Ready for Christmas!!!

I can't wait for Christmas. It is my favorite time of the year, but at the same time I don't want the season to start in September. The weather has finally changed and the cool air is moving in. We had to officially pull out the heavy winter coats this week. Tonight we headed out to Sears to get some pictures taken since the last good ones were taken by Michelle. There is no comparison to Michelle's pictures! We knew the girl we had in Sears was going to be trouble when we could barely hear her and she had no enthusiasm to get Drew to move or smile. We got enough to get a Christmas card and some updated pictures.

So when is it too early to put out your inflatable Santa? Jason wants to know. One guy down the street has his out already! Jason is seriously considering putting the lights out soon since there is no snow on the roof, but I PROMISE they won't be turned on until the day after Thanksgiving!

Grandpa's Chickadees

Chris and Kaylee came home to help finish up the harvest. Late on Saturday afternoon we headed over so that Drew could get one more ride in the combine before the end of the year. Jason reluctantly (not really) gave all the kids rides on the 4-wheeler while waiting their ride with Grandpa Charlie.

Drew was first to head out. My Dad says that riding with Drew is very calm. He will talk once and awhile, but is most intrigued by the combine head (bean or corn). This comes out in play at home. When Drew is playing with his combine - he puts the head down, drives it to the end of the row, put the head up, turns around, puts it down to start on the next row, drives it to the end of the row, puts the head up, drives it to the tractor and augor wagaon. Then as the corn releases he makes the hissing sound to show it is going into the wagon. Then he starts this process all over again. For those of you who don't know the head is the "picker" on the front of the combine.

Drew's turn was "over" much to his disagreement and the girls got in with Grandpa. But I don't think Grandpa was ready for what was about to occur. He said that Kaylee and Ally didn't stop chit chatting the whole round. He couldn't understand their fast pace conversation, but was done with it after one round. He wanted it to be somewhat quiet with an occasional conversation. He took my quiet little boy back to finish the field.

Those two little girls are hilarious together even though there is 2 years different - they will surely become good friends!

I'm Shadow

Our little boy is crazy or maybe he has crazy parents or maybe both. Does anyone else's kids love to play pretend animals? He crawls around acting like a puppy. This is not the insane part, but he also refers to himself in third person. If we call him Drew - he responds - I am Shadow not Drew.

Some of this is coming from school. Those poor teachers have 25 kids Drew's age pretending to be cats, dogs and other farm animals. I can understand why they want the chaos to stop, but imagination play is so great. I thought it was slightly cute at first, but after 5 days it is getting old!!!

Not Old Enough

I shouldn't be having this argument yet!!!

On the way out the door this morning, Ally asked for her lip gloss. (Thanks Pastor Paul for putting make-up in your VBS store!) I told her to play with it at home and that we didn't need it. She told me that Izzy was bringing something cool and she told Izzy that she would bring something cool to play with her.

I told her she wasn't wearing or taking make-up to school. "But why not?" she replied.

Goodness - isn't this an argument for middle school not with your 4 year old. Today, I won - kind of. She put some purple lip gloss on before heading down to her class, but the rest had to stay on my desk. I am sure that my 8th graders will love this toy!